Puddle Jumper
Gateships, more often dubbed Puddle Jumpers by the Tau'ri, are small spacecraft created by the Ancients. Several of these ships were discovered in various hangars in Atlantis, and are used by the Atlantis expedition for various purposes. Gateships feature retractable thrusters that allow them to travel through a Stargate, as well as powerful Drone weapons for self-defense and a cloaking device to avoid detection. They are operated via neural interface, and so the Ancient Technology Activation gene is required to activate and pilot the ship. Overview The design of a Puddle Jumper is a small, roughly cylindrical shape with an angled front and rear, allowing it to slide perfectly through open Stargates. The front section contains the cockpit of the vessel with all control functions, four seats for passengers, and a large view port at the front of the ship. The aft section contains a passenger and storage area with a hatch in the back to access the ship. The craft is split into two sections, the cockpit and cargo hold, with a bulkhead door to separate them. This door is quite strong, capable of holding back the pressure of deep ocean water and retaining atmosphere in space Weapons The Jumper's weapon systems consist of at least 12 Ancient Drone weapons, housed in two weapon pods located on both sides in front of the engine pods. Puddle Jumpers can inflict serious damage to even Wraith Hive ships, although they would in all probability be destroyed within seconds of entering the Hive ship's weapons range if they were used as a serious part of an attack force. Engines Gateships are equipped with two anti-gravity drive pods, which may either be extended or retracted during flight. However, the drive pods when extended are capable of propelling the craft at far greater speeds, but must be retracted in order to go through a Stargate. The engines of gateships also allow the craft to hover silently above ground in one spot. This, in conjunction with the cloak, has proven to be a useful ability in surprise attacks. Gateships are also capable of reverse flight. As they are also capable of operating underwater, gateships may also be used as submersibles. Technology A Puddle Jumper has no true shields at all, suggesting that it was designed to be an exploration and trading ship. Its only defense consists of an advanced cloaking generator capable of masking the ship to both the naked eye and sensors, much like those on Goa'uld Tel'taks and Al'kesh, although far smaller and more powerful. The Jumper's cloak cannot be penetrated by Wraith, Tau'ri, or Asgard sensors, apart from the sensors of the ZPM powered hive ship. The cloak conceals the full interior of the vessel and its occupants even if the hatch is open. The Jumper's cloak is not limited to the size of the craft, as it can be extended around other objects. The Puddle Jumper utilizes a subspace communications system to facilitate real-time communications between locations, although it is not as powerful as the ones on the rest of the Ancient fleet or the Tau'ri Deep space carriers. They also have a radio transmitter, possibly put in place by the Tau'ri. Gateships, like other Ancient technology, utilize crystals to control its systems. These crystals are located in the rear section of the ship behind the bench seats and in panels hanging from the ceiling. As most of the control conduits go to the rear section of the Gateship, it is possible to control the ship from that location as well. Like many of the other onboard systems, the heads up display of a Gateship is entirely intuitive. Appearing on the main viewing window of the Jumper, it displays pertinent information about anything the pilot is thinking about. It also activates automatically to display important information to the pilot, such as nearby vessels, weapons fire or anomalous energy readings. Category:Space Transports